Adrian Velazquez Summer Scrimmages held at CHS

RIO RANCHO — Cleveland High School boys soccer hosted an emotional scrimmage in late July as they hosted the annual Adrian Velazquez Summer Scrimmages.

On Dec. 25, 2019, Adrian Velazquez, his brother, Roberto Velazquez and mother, Marilyn Velazquez were murdered by father, Carlos Velazquez who then turned the gun on himself.

At the time, Velazquez was a freshman and played JV soccer at CHS.

Velazquez was a brilliant midfielder for the soccer team who was a selfless player and also a talented musician who was involved with CHS band.

The senseless murder shocked the community, and now, an annual week of scrimmages honors the late CHS student.

Some of the soccer teams in attendance were Rio Rancho High School, Albuquerque High, Del Norte, Valencia, Los Lunas, Belen and Sandia Prep.

Four games were being played at one time: three on the grass fields, and one at Thunderbolt Stadium.

“We have been doing so many summer practices, now it’s time for our players to take what they have learned in June and July and put it into game play. These are game scenarios, and it's also fun because these are game-like,” Cleveland assistant coach Parker Jones said.

Jones, a graduate from the 2013 class, was a standout athlete for the Storm in soccer and track and field. He also ran track at the University of New Mexico and is a coach for the track and field team at Cleveland.

“We like to move players around, analyze, and find out where this player might fit best. This is the time to try out those things, and if it works, it works,” Jones said.

Coaches really took advantage of the reps and experimented with new formations, including a unique 3-6-1 look, which means a team plays three defenders, six midfielders and one forward. Another interesting formation deployed was a 2-4-4, which utilized four forwards.

Belen and Los Lunas even combined rosters when they faced Cleveland.

RRHS and CHS kick off their season at 5 p.m. Aug. 20 at their respective home fields. RRHS will play Las Cruces, and CHS will play Organ Mountain.